Air Botswana - by O Dawson

27 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Gaborone to Kasane and back. I found the aircraft to be fine - nothing spectacular, but clean, tidy and in order. Younger cabin crew staff tended to be friendlier and more outgoing, whilst older employees seemed weary and even a little sullen. Inflight snack an odd cross between chicken sandwich and summer salad, with neither emerging as distinct in itself. My overall impression was of an airline that does a functional job pretty solidly - no delays for me - but could probably add a little more to its approach to customer care. There are plenty worse in Africa!

Air Botswana - by Jeff Williams

21 January 2007

Jo'burg-Maun-Jo'burg. Either we were lucky or Air Botswana are improving. BAe 146 in decent condition, flights left on time and the crew were pleasant. The inflight snack was curious but as all Brit passengers are increasingly used to nothing at all this just isn't a problem. Given the flight time and distance our fares were reasonable though not cheap. May the improvement on our (and others') previous bad experiences continue.

Air Botswana - by Sandi Johnson

21 June 2006

I travel Air Botswana frequently for trips around the country (as there is no other carrier) and what I cannot understand is the extremly high cost for tickets. I understand they have a monopoly but $500 for a 2 hour flight is absurd! When they do have 'specials' you can call the day they are announced only to find out those cheap seats have already been filled. And their prices compared to SA for flights to Joburg are also incredibly high ($400 for a 1 hour flight). So high that we never fly to Joburg but opt to drive for 4 hours and spend a night in a hotel, which works out to a big cost savings, although not a time saver. The staff are adequate (although customer service in all of Botswana is poor, so it is adequate compared to that baseline) , but not the food. And the flights are frequently late, especially leaving from Joburg to Gabs.

Air Botswana - by Ray Hughes

18 April 2006

I have just returned from Botswana - my 6th visit to this lovely friendly country- and must strongly disagree with the comments regarding the quality of the cabin crew . I have always found them to be models of friendly, efficient and helpful service. They seem to epitomise the character of the people I have met in Botswana- a ready smile and a genuine concern to help if they can. Air Botswana has an important role in representing this rapidly developing country- yes they must update their aircraft but they have a priceless asset - their staff. Take note Air France & Emirates with your indifferent customer relations.

Air Botswana - by Richard Woodward

24 September 2005

5 months month later and there is no improvement. I have reluctantly had to use Air Botswana 3 times in the last 3 weeks and will do my best to avoid in the future. The aircraft are in desperate need of a refurbishment and the cabin crew, I think the same. I have never experienced such a rude cabin crew anywhere else (and I have their names noted - BP203 13/9/05). The debacle of carrying pieces of hand luggage, onto an ATR42, was handled in a dreadful manor. Why AB cannot follow SaExpress and use the Skycheck method is beyond belief. A crew members solution ? to shout at the passengers who had pieces of hand luggage that would not fit into the useless overhead bins; these were passengers who had been told to take the luggage onto the aircraft by the ground crew! The 'verbal' crew member in question then proceeded to tell me how bored she was after sitting herself down next to me during the flight ! Amazing stuff. (NB. There was one new crew member who was in training; she was pleasant and courteous; it's a shame this trend will not continue)

from Willie Mokgatlhe of Air Botswana Head Office

3 March 2005

Feedback from customers well received. At Air Botswana, safety is certainly priority number one. We are continuously improving. Air Botswana operates three 47-seat ATR42-500 advanced turbopropeller aircraft and a 75-seat British Aerospace 146-100 ‘whisperjet’. Soon a second BAe146 will come into service, to consolidate the airline’s direct jet services between Maun (Okavango Delta) and Cape Town and between Maun and Johannesburg. It will also provide extra capacity and flexibility for route network development. Soon too will start the refurbishment of the entire fleet, with all aircraft being thoroughly spruced up inside and out, including seats, carpeting and paintwork. It’s all part of the feel-good factor that is so important in air travel, and it is another reflection of Air Botswana’s close attention to service quality.

Air Botswana - by Richard Woodward

11 January 2005

Totally agree with Dave Clark; Air Botswana are a worry as the image they give off is not exactly comforting. I travel frequently between between Botswana and South Africa and my preferred carrier is always South African Express as their Dash-8's appear extremely well maintained, clean and a cabin crew who clearly have superior training; especially with respect to safety. The last time a used one of Air Bot's ATR's I noticed that the seat numbers had been 'stencilled' on by hand, not to mention the tatty seats and toilets. My favourite item however was the grubby/oily black finger marks left all over the engine cowls.

Air Botswana - by David Clark

6 January 2005

Air Botswana comments (May 04) still more or less the same (I travelled twice in Dec 04). However, the ATR 42's looked really beaten up, with lots of external paint missing, and internal bits missing or hanging loose. These are not old 'planes, so why the tatty appearance? They seem to fly well enough, but for how long, seeing the complete lack of TLC. Get to grips with it, Air Botswana, or customers will lose confidence. I think I am, after my recent trips.

Air Botswana - by Craig Thomas

18 May 2004

Gaborone to Johannesburg. Not too bad at all. The Pula lounge in Gaborone, although tiny, is quite a comfortable spot to relax in before the flight. The ATR42 operated on the route is definitely showing its age, and seats are fairly uncomfortable. Snack service consists of peanuts and biltong, whereas competitor SA Express provides a full sandwich service on board. Crew were friendly - downside being arrival in Johannesburg - for aircraft to overnight in Johannesburg, we were parked on a remote stand a good 10-15 minutes from the terminal building.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Comments and opinions contained in these pages do not represent the views of Skytrax. All features contain unsolicited input from site visitors, and we seek to exercise the minimum level of editorial control and censorship to ensure the widest debate and platform for customer opinions. We will not publish submissions that contain abusive language. We cannot guarantee to publish all opinions submitted.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS HERE

  These Review pages are designed to offer guidance and assistance to other travellers, and we ask respondents to use an "informative" style of comment and share any travel tips for the airline  in question.

  Your First Name (or initial) and Family Name, and E-mail address MUST be supplied.

  When submitting comments, please DO NOT insert paragraphs.

  Please check you use Upper and Lower case only - submissions made all in CAPITALS will NOT be accepted.

  Comment submissions that require extensive text editing CANNOT be published.